RahXephon: Angel, Ollin, and God
by DarkWriter00
Summary: What if Ayato didn't just gain the RahXephon? What if he encountered another while trapped in his own prison of dreams (episode 11)? Another human is captured in the past by the same Dolem. What makes this person so special? Read on to find out!
1. Prologue

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Introduction and Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with ADV Films or the Japanese producers who thought up this unique and dark anime series. …And I'm not even a big fan of anime! I only own my own characters and ideas I've fit in to tie into the original plot.

For at least a few days I've thought of this story idea. An interesting what if… The summary's under the main title of course. Well, enjoy the prologue and let me know what you think!

RahXephon fans : I might be a little slow in making updates, because this fic isn't my top priority. My dark, dark Final Fantasy 8 fanfiction is. "Torture from the Devil Woman: Ultimecia." Even if you don't know about the game, there's some background info tweaked into the chapters every now and then. It's a really good read, I assure you!

Special thanks to Phillip R. Banks for providing the very detailed Mu Timeline! (look up "Mu TimeLine" on Google, and you'll see it!)

RahXephon: Angel, Ollin, and God

Prologue: The Tale of the First Angel, Instrumentalist, and Xephon

Earth. A planet that's small within the entire universe. A one of a kind. Why? The creation of mankind, of course. These hairless primates were one of intelligence the universe had to treasure.

For centuries, these inventive creatures had created fire, for starters. One of many good things. Moving onto building and constructing education. Transportation, written languages, electricity, and agriculture would be a few of the many things that highlight among the good things.

In equal to the amount of good things, came the bad. War, discrimination, organized crime and punishments. Yes, mankind had been on quite a journey, but all that was mentioned would be something for all of humanity to recognized.

The one thing hidden within the Earth was a race known as the Mu. A human race of blue blood. An empire that had spread throughout the world, once building dedication of their own continent. The first Mu colonies were in the early areas before it was officially known as South America, Egypt, and Burma. A separate kind of human race that were much more ahead of time than the other, with their advanced technology. For a time, these people were the superiors over the red bloods. Servants, to worship and obey…

Since the very early era of mankind, there was one man who has lived through many generations. He's studied the Mu. It was as if he had been blessed to have outlived any other human out there to do this. But, wouldn't this have been recorded? If he was well known, yes, but he wasn't.

He's known as Bahbem, well at least that's his surname. His first was not known to many. Bahbem in growing into a young man, had succeeded in creating an artificial god. The Xephon Project. Humanoid robotic figures hatching out of man made eggs. And within the system, a chosen human being, otherwise known as instrumentalist, would be able to pilot one of these. Probably were first created for domination purposes, for Bahbem was heavily dedicated to the Mu. But due to testing, the race of the Mu had been separated into a separate realm of Earth in result of a catastrophic failure. The blue blooded beings and their home continent had been stranded from the rest of the world.

This was the reason why the Mu were not well known for several centuries. Overtime though, Bahbem had been working himself to the bone in correcting the Xephon Project, for it was unstable. And due to it's technical events of experimentations with Mulian technology and power, one of the three eggs was smaller from the other two. A gigantic white egg on the isolated Mu Continent, the other two a black one, same size, and a white human infant sized egg. The Mulian gods must have taken Bahbem's invention into their own hands…

From the small egg, hatched a human infant. Shocked to his disbelief, Bahbem decided to take this newborn human and raise it. He found out it was a male. What was strange about this newborn was that in his next twenty four hours of life, the baby was in a deep sleep. Within the period, wings of purest white had grown out of the infant's back. Surely this was an amazing discovery! Well, the human child had to be kept in secret, or otherwise the growing independent race of the red bloods would grow suspicious. All in all, the baby grew up to be young boy, to a man, living a long and private life. Besides the wings, the aging was slightly slower than an average specimen of mankind. This eventually meant that this human, born in 1576 A.D. had lived up to a little more than the average life span of seventy to one-hundred-fifty years. In perfect health, the male named Lucas Bahbem lived up to one-hundred-fifty-two years, dying at the end of December, 1728.

In the next several years, the Mulian people had used Bahbem's Xephon Project to their advantage. Although it wasn't until 1700 A. D. when Bahbem regained contact with them and gave an explanation of the white winged man who was chosen a female, shown while still alive, the prophecy was made. The angelic human born would not grow the wings until after twenty four hours contact with the chosen instrumentalist with the next Xephon.

Among the explanation, Bahbem had mentioned when Lucas had become ill, he had become ill. He also had felt Lucas's emotions in the past. The most remembered was the long period of time with loneliness, lack of companionship.

This was an unexplainable phenomenon. The selected instrumentalist and the angelic human born would connect after the first twenty four hours. There was no certain age confirmed, and this special kind of human could not be predicted. It was tried again with the next newborn and chosen instrumentalist. No wings have grown from Lucas's offspring after the first day. Nothing. Perhaps it was a sign for the one instrumentalist to tune the world in harmony to the Mu's liking. The best of the best.

The Bahbem Foundation of this developed in 1900 A. D. In secret, he began to shape human development. In time one Mulian shall be conceived. Hopefully, this Mulian would be the one to receive not only the god like being, Xephon, but of the Xephon's angel.

Soon, one pure Mulian, and one other whose genes have the long gone descendant of Lucas Bahbem would arrange to meet…


	2. First Movement, Act One

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Back with the first chapter…err movement. I'm writing this fic out as if watching an episode of RahXephon! It'll be like an episode with the two acts, and a preview of the next movement at the end. Well, enjoy! This was really fun to write for me. Hehe!

First Movement: Singing Creature of the Sky, Imprisoned in a World of Dreams

ACT ONE

January 16th, 2004...Front block of Johnson residence, Hilton Head Island in North Carolina…

On the eve of Ashley Johnson's twentieth birthday, all had been peaceful and calm, until, that is, the military fighter crafts whizzed by her head. She gripped onto the leash so she wouldn't lose her golden retriever, Brook. The dog didn't even try to get away, but cowered instead, tail in between its back legs. "C'mon Brook! Let's go home!" she told her loveable companion after the jets flew by her. Something rather strange was going on, and staying outside wasn't really the thing to be doing.

Her hair was long and curly, a shade of firery red. Her green eyes were open and alert. It was also a good thing that she was in sneakers. Sandals would just slow her down and made her more vulnerable to trip over cracks on the paved street of this suburbia, created by this midair war.

Many times down this road, Ashley had gone, and rather let the dog lead her back home. She was rather focusing at the sky above. Among the noisy aircraft, there was singing. It sounded like a woman's voice, slightly rising and lowering in soprano pitch. Out of all things, why was she able to hear the singing…?

In not much time at all, Ashley on the way home had seen a strange looking creature in the sky. The singing was much louder, causing Ms. Johnson to twitch and Brook to bark. Brook halted in running and kept on barking at the new thing in the sky. Dimly through the available streetlights and the moon's light alone, the creature looked like it had a set of wings of some sort. The body was long and slender, tan in color. There appeared to be lips, but no eyes on the face of this freak of the one constantly in song. A large and glowing ring hovered around its head. An angelic symbol, so was this an angel from God? Slowly, it was heading in Ashley and her pet's direction. Why…?

The unbearably loud singing was hurting Ashley's ears. No, this wasn't an angel from God. It wouldn't _dare_ hurt her. Brook broke free of her grip of the leash and kept barking, trying to protect his "mother." "Brook!" Ashley called as the creature was slowly advancing toward them, the jets trying to attack blowing up, one by one. The military defense of North Carolina were outclassed, and were no match for the Dolem, whose sonic waves touched the aircraft on impact with its singing.

__

That must be one of those Dolem things I head on the news, she thought as she was backing up, but couldn't do it fast enough. Dolems. Weapons of the Mu. A long line has split in between the blue bloods and red bloods. The reds were no longer servants to the blues, and had become more and more independent, without the Mu's technology or words of wisdom as to know how to live in harmony. In tuning the world properly… With knowing this, the Mu became fed up with the humans and decided to wipe the majority of the red bloods off the face of the planet. War had begun.

Ashley's never sure if she's encountered a blue blooded Mulian, because all the people she had seen looked Mulian. If she were to encounter one, she'd sworn herself that she'd kick his or her ass. It's because of the MULIANS, for they were attacking cities all over the world, with their hovering machinery called Dolems.

The singing from the approaching Dolem was paralyzing her. Each one had its own characteristic and name. The one who must be in charge was responsible for naming, perhaps? Vivace, the name of this Dolem, had selected Ashley as its target. As for the girl, she didn't hear the sound of her mother's voice, calling at her daughter to come inside.

Closer and closer, the Dolem came, stretching its wings. Ashley's mother began to grab her from behind, getting the poor girl to safety. The noise had also caused the older woman to hold her ears. "ASHLEY!!!" she screamed, helplessly watching those long, tan wings wrap around Ashley's body.

The Vivace rose slowly into the air, holding the paralyzed girl, too affected with the singing to even struggle in its grasp. Unable to remain focused much longer, Ashley Johnson's world around her turned grey as the two were about to vanish elsewhere into an unknown dimension only the people of the Mu would know, because they had the advanced technology, and have hand crafted Vivace out of clay and mud.

For one second, Ashley Johnson was in the front yard of her own house. The next second? She found herself standing around in a corner of a sidewalk. Across the street was a nice little café place she went to have some lattes. "What the…?" Ashley quirked out loud. Okay, this did not make sense. She knew she was gripped by the wings of a Dolem and having a massive headache, so big and painful that she thought her head was going to explode! _What's going on here? Did the Dolem take me to this place? …I'm confused._ Too much of a mind boggle to figure it out. Well, the café was just standing there. Perhaps a latte would help calm her nerves.

On the edge of the sidewalk she stood upon, Ashley looked both ways before crossing on the marked zone for pedestrians, a set of painted white diagonal lines along one part of the street. As she pushed opened the glass double doors and took in a whiff of the coffee scented air… _This…just isn't making any sense…_ Her own brain refused to be at ease with the rest of her body. It all just happened a little too fast. Hello, there was an aerial assault above her neighborhood, remember? And she had the peace of mind to grab a latte at a time like this?!

__

I think too much for my own good, Ashley confirmed as she stepped inside. Then all of a sudden, an indescribable sound flooded her ears. It sounded a bit like a hissing snake. And in the vision was hard to see. A blurry figure was seen in the distance, for just one second. After that, she found herself in the same place, inside the café. The only thing different was hearing a familiar voice. "Ashley?! Oh my God, Ashley!" She pinpointed the voice to see a familiar face. A very friendly and familiar face she hasn't seen in AGES! "Aaron?!" Ashley exclaimed. Where did he come from?! Was he in the café before she had arrived? And for how long?

In upon first seeing this boy known as Aaron, Ashley had only known him for a few days. He was very friendly…and cute. His eyes were ocean blue and so beautiful. His hair was blonde and exotically spiked down and outward, like a rockstar would do it. His body was real fit and looked like he exercised daily. Ever since upon first sight of him, and he said he was new to Hilton Head, she just _HAD_ to be the one to show him around the neighborhood! She kept smiling and acted all giddy and silly around this hot stud in showing him around. Especially in the place they were in now. This guy was so cute and had a fun loving personality. A nice smile too. The guy of her dreams.

He didn't stay longer than a few days because of his dad. Aaron had explained this to Ashley just before the day he had to leave. It was just him and his father, who was always traveling. That was part of his job, to travel, and find material for the group of journalists he worked for. Hilton Head was a short lived story at the time. There was a Mardi Gras festival going on the second day Ashley was with Aaron, and it was one of the most special times for the Hilton Head Island residents. Baked goods contest, artwork displays, and the selling of flashy beaded necklaces and shirts. The two went over there and had a lot of fun.

"Don't you wish you could just stay in one place?" Ashley had asked him before in the past, about over a year ago. "Yeah, sometimes I do," Aaron shamelessly admitted. "But I like traveling. It's fun, getting to see and hear and touch the world. You learn some very interesting things along the way." She felt rather depressed on the day he left. The possible dream date just wasn't meant to be…

And now…he's back? Why? _WHO CARES?! It's AARON!!!_ she mentally screamed back at the logical side of her brain as she sat down across from him in a booth. A waiter had come by and she ordered her favorite brand of latte: Butterscotch Supreme. A third of it being coffee, a fourth of it being milk, with a foamy marshmallow surface and caramel syrup topping. "Oh my gosh!! What are you doing here?!" she nearly shrieked with excitement. Suddenly, all her worries about that Dolem had disappeared from her mind. Perhaps it was an angel from God! It brought her to Aaron after all!

"I moved here. Remember that year ago on my dad being a reporter?" She nodded rapidly, smiling as big as she could. "He quit his job as a reporter, fed up with the salary he's been getting and found a more permanent job. Isn't it great?!" Aaron said, as excited as Ashley was acting. "Yeah!" was all she could reply, out of sheer joy of seeing him and all. It was a dream come true. After all this time, she never forgot about his oh so friendly personality, the build. If he would have stayed longer that year ago, she was sure to ask him out. Now that he came back, the possibilities were crystal clear. He was a really great guy, not for his looks, but for his well rounded inner being.

Ashley dreamily looked at him, feeling so happy since, like, almost never! It was one of those rare times in which she's felt so happy. "Hey, I never forgot about you, y'know?" Aaron continued, catching Ashley's attention. "Really?" "Yeah, you're one of the coolest friends I've made in the travels I've been in, with my father." She blushed, very flattered by his very kind and open hearted words.

Her latte had come, and she began taking a sip. With her Butterscotch Supreme in possession and Aaron sitting right there across from her, Ashley figured she must have died and gone to heaven. _Is that what this is? Heaven?_

"I'm glad you came back," she told him, relaxed and in peace from the joys of her latte. "So am I," came the reply, equally as calm.

There it was again, that blurry figure and that noise. Only the figure was a bit more clear. The mysterious one looked like a girl or a woman in standing up. Yes, a woman because her chest was slightly exposed to Ashley's slightly modest eyes. Wearing absolutely nothing, but some type of hat piece on her head. Did she need help? _What the…? What's going on…?_ Confused extremely for another second, she found herself back at the café again. The hot latte spilled over on the table, onto her jeans and shirt. She must have flinched! She looked to see Aaron, gathering napkins on the side of the table and walking over to wear you sat. The hot liquid soaked Ashley's clothes and burned her a bit. "Are you alright?" Aaron asked in concern. The look on her face must have told him she wasn't.

"Did you see that…person?" Confused, Aaron raised an eyebrow. "…I didn't see anybody." "You're kidding." "No…" Handing her the napkins, Aaron furthermore asked, "Are you feeling a bit under the weather?" Shaking her head, Ashley said slowly, "I…don't know…" Looking at him desperately in the eye, Ashley repeated the question, just to make sure. "Are you sure you hadn't seen anybody? Anyone that looked like a woman with long red hair?" Ashley was afraid to admit whom she saw was nude. Cleaning herself up, her mind was just flaring with confusion and slight discomfort. "I-I don't know… Maybe I am sick…or something," she said, really unsure and confused. She looked to Aaron again, whose face was equally worried as her. Regaining self control, she felt inside her pants pockets and discovered she had no cash on her. "Damn it! I have no money!" she cried, alarmed of the situation. Taking the situation under control, Aaron pulled something out of the right back pocket of his black jeans and showed her his brown wallet. "It's okay. I'll pay for you," he said. Softly smiling in return Ashley thought, _He's so sweet…_

After paying for the spilled Butterscotch Supreme, Aaron had offered to take Ashley home. She'd figure he'd do a sweet thing like that. The offer to pay for her gave that hint away. His arm snaked around her waist. A bit unexpected, but it was okay with Ashley. This was the coolest guy she's ever known. And the cutest… "Do you…remember where I live?" she had to ask him. "Yeah, I do," Aaron smiled. She smiled back, relieved that he was here to stay on Hilton Head.

"About…who you saw, was she someone you knew?" Aaron asked her. "I don't know…"she said, really unsure of what's going on still. Her mind was buzzing away, trying to figure this out. Was it some kind of hallucination? Was she really ill? _What the hell's going on here?!_

She wasn't afraid in being open to him, because he was totally open to her. "I feel like I've gone crazy… You've…seen that Dolem thing attack those jets last night, right?" Aaron directly looked at her, a look of confusion. "Dolem? What's a Dolem?" Stopping herself, she was shocked to hear that Aaron didn't know what a Dolem was. _I'm dreaming this up… It can't be possible that Aaron had come to stay here. I can't just suddenly end up at the café! I must…_

She felt Aaron touch her forehead. "You are feeling a little warm." Surprised, Ashley quirked, "I do?" "Yeah, maybe you should lie down for a while," he suggested, his arm holding her close to himShe nodded, figuring that wasn't such a bad idea. "Is your mom or dad at home?" he asked her in concern. "I don't know… Maybe," she said. For the time being, she was trying to stay calm, but her mind was panicking in confusion. Nothing was right in the air around her. Something was going on, and she assumed that Dolem who captured her had something to do with this. _It must have knocked me out and…_

Leading Ashley inside her house, Aaron began to call for her parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson?! Are you there?!" There was no answer, so he continued leading her down a hall towards her bedroom. Perhaps Aaron was doing the right thing. Maybe she had to go to sleep to make this dream end… But wait… The spilled latte! _You cannot feel pain while you're dreaming, can you?_

At the doorway to Ashley's room, she stopped them both and faced him. "I don't know what went on with at the café. I-" "Don't worry about it," Aaron gently cut her off, seeming to understand how apologetic she was being. After all, what happened before was a bit embarrassing. That was a problem though. Ashley couldn't just push it away.

"No, I can't not worry about it," she said. "There was this Dolem, and I'm surprised you don't know what one is. Your dad works for reporters! How can you not know?!" She continued, irritated and slightly pacing around by a few steps. "I was attacked by one, and then I end up at the café, seeing you! I don't know what's going on, but something's not right… I mean, is it really all gone back to normal?!"

The way Aaron was being so calm and clueless as to what she was saying was freaking her out. "What is normal anyway?" he asked, in a logical sense. "Is there really any kind of normal?" Thinking it over, Ashley somewhat agreed, "I guess not…" Thinking some more, she wondered, "I can't be dreaming this all up, can I? Can I wake myself up?" She looked to him, shyly and nervously smiling. "I mean, it's great you're here and all, but-" "This isn't real?" he said, as if reading her mind. Really _freaky!_ "How did you-" Ashley started to ask, but Aaron wasn't finished with what he had to tell her.

"If you can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell it, doesn't that make it real in the end? Making the other reality seem surreal?" Okay, the way as to how Aaron was acting wasn't like the way Aaron acted before. Could he be just some guy who looks like him?! Was he a stalker? Still, whoever he was, he had continued to speak. He seemed to act like Ashley was starting to figure things out. "Why suffer in silence when this world is yours to enjoy? Who cares about what's real to others? You are the one that counts."

From that point, the flash thing happened once more. Around in the white area she saw, the naked woman with fancy headwear in the distance had turned around, facing her.

When that next second had past, she found herself lying flat on her back on her bed. Aaron was on top of her, kissing her neck. "Wha?! Aaron!!" Ashley called to whom she had known was not like the Aaron she knew a year back. He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. His face was calm and his smile was warm. "Don't fight it. It's what you've always wanted all along." _What's he saying?! How does he know…?_

She pushed Aaron off of her, scared and confused as to what has went on so far. Ashley grabbed her coffee stained shirt and put it on, discovering that she was topless. It would've been nice to experience on another occasion, but this wasn't it. Something was just _not right_. It was all wrong! This wasn't like the Aaron she knew. It was a totally different person! Ashley was feeling really afraid now and felt a chill creeping up her spine. "Tell me, what is it that you desire?" Aaron asked her in this seducing voice. "Tell me…" She was right the first time.This was _NOT_ the Aaron she knew. The first instinct that clicked was to run away. And she did.

Running out of the house, Ashley ran as far as she could, not caring about where to. She just had to get away from that creep who looked like Aaron. "What the…hell…is…happening?" she panted, out of breath and unable to run. Her mind was unable to cope with what just happened. Unable to figure out any kind of solution. Well, at least she got away from him.

After several breaths of gaining air into her lungs, she kept going into the direction headed, hoping to find a clue, or answer… Something…

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A/N: Act two, coming soon!


	3. First Movement, Act Two

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Thanks to my pal Water Goddess to be the first review this intense and just as mysterious as the real anime series, and not being real familiar with it. Good for her! No worries, I'll be able to squeeze in more background information in the next movement! C'mon people, ya know you want a piece of the suspense! Here we are, the last part of the first chapter…err movement!

ACT TWO

She reached the end of the corner to discover another person. Her mother. "Mom!" Ashley cried out in surprise and relief, previously blind to the words that the person she thought she knew had said. Her mother, Margaret, opened her arms as the two hugged, happy to see each other. "I'm glad you're okay, mom," said her daughter as they embraced. "I'm glad you are too," Margaret said gently in response.

Margaret Johnson. Ashley was the spitting image of her mother, except for the hair and eye color. Short chestnut brown hair with hazel eyes, but this face was what welcomed her out of the creepy events that Ashley had experienced. They came to mind as Ashley quickly let go of her, alarmed. "Mom, there's a guy in the house that tried to get me! C'mon, c'mon!" she said to her all at once, grabbing her mother by the arm. "What are you talking about, sweetheart?" her mom asked, perplexed. "Slow down, you're going to yank my arm out of its socket!" Ashley continued to lead her towards what was supposed to be their home.

Swinging the door open, the younger woman yelled out a warning. "Alright, you pervert! My mom's here, so you better get out RIGHT NOW, or we'll call the cops!" She meant serious business as she stormed up to her room, only to discover that no one was there. _Wow, he got out of there quick! _she thought.

"Hey, he's gone!" Ashley called down to her mom, who joined her in standing by her bedroom doorway. "What are you talking about, dear? What happened?" She had a look of concern as Ashley spilled the beans without any hesitations. The report about that stalker came out all in one taking without having to inhale for air. "Oh my, that must have been terrible! It's a good thing he's gone now, or else I-" Margaret's nostrils twitched. To Ashley, she looked distracted. "Is that…coffee I smell?" "Yeah, my Butterscotch Supreme spilled all over me!" she said, nearly laughing in embarrassment. "So, yeah… I'll change into some clean clothes."

She calmly closed the door after watching her momwalk down the hallway in the opposite direction. Margaret turned to look back and announced, "I'll be fixing dinner soon. Does lasagna sound okay to you?" Lasagna, one of Ashley's favorite foods. She was such a sucker for Italian food whenever it was offered. "Yeah, sounds great!" she yelled back, thinking that she could used a good home cooked meal.

As she looked through her dresser for a quick change of clothes, her mind just would not shut off. There was just something odd in the air still. Her mother seemed a little oblivious from how Ashley had acted. Shaking her head free of the thoughts, she argued with her smarts that she just wanted to forget about that.

She came back out, dressed in blue jeans that had glittery flowers on the pant legs, and in a nice light blue spaghetti strap shirt. Soon, she joined her mother in the kitchen. Ashley also found it weird that her mother didn't hug and kiss her like crazy in seeing that Dolem take her up into the air and teleport her to where the café was. There was something that needed to be asked. "Mom, do you remember that Dolem thing that took me away for a while?" Her mother's back was turned towards the kitchen stove, but that didn't mean Margaret wasn't paying attention to what her daughter had to say. But there came no response at first. "Mom? Y'know, it's so weird! Remember Aaron? That guy looked just like him and acted like him for a bit and didn't know what a Dolem was! Isn't that just…weird?!"

"Oh, don't worry yourself about it. You're home, aren't you?" said her mom as she remained focused on preparing her food. Okay, this wasn't like her… "Weren't you _worried_ when I was gone?" Ashley asked, feeling worried herself on what was going on. _Why is she acting like this? Why didn't…?_ "Yes, I was worried," Margaret said, and turned to her daughter. There was a sense of confidence in her voice as she added, "But I had faith that you would return." Ashley watched her mother hold onto her daughter's hand. "You are one of the strongest young women I've ever met, and I mean it." Margaret Johnson smiled, causing Ashley to smile back. Well, it was a good enough reason for her!

Then, the flash happened once again. The naked woman in head dress was starting to approach her, slowly, swaying this way and that if she had a little too much to drink. The fancy head dress had some sort of eye shape on the front, and it covered her eyes.

When she found herself back in the kitchen, dinner was ready. Her mother sat on the other end of the table across from her, cutting up her slice of lasagna into smaller pieces. As she took a bite, Ashley was told, "Eat your food before it gets cold, Ash." A warm hearted smile showed on her face. "Mom?" Ashley asked, starting to feel the chills again. There was a bit of fear in her voice. "Yes dear?"

Suddenly, she had forgotten what she was about to ask her mother, in distraction by the framed photo behind her. Her mother loved birds, and the Canadian goose was one of her favorites. As usual, Ashley was smart enough to know that things in pictures cannot move. But the goose flapped its wings and flew to one side of the frame, and was seen no more.

Another chill crept up Ashley's spine. Her mother looked the distraught expression and asked, "Is there something wrong, dear?" Staring at the framed scenery, missing goose, fear enveloped her voice in response in the form of another question. "Mom? How…long did you have that goose picture?" _What the hell's going on here?! Why did the goose…?_ Without bothering to look at the framed photo on the wall behind her, Margaret replied gently, "Since you were four." Ashley caught her mother wearing a smile on her face. A cold smile. Her mind was just close to panicking in a frenzy, but a small part of Ashley was still sane.

She left the table, knowing that nothing was feeling the same way anymore. Quickly, she ran up to her room, and shut the door. Catching her breath, the moments of what happened with the Aaron look alike and her mother called back in her brain. _And…what about that strange woman?! Why am I seeing her when no one else isn't?! _ After a moment of thinking, she thought back to what "Aaron" said… _"If you can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell it, doesn't that make it real in the end? Making the other reality seem surreal? Why suffer in silence when this world is yours to enjoy? Who cares about what's real to others? You are the one that counts…" _And the most creepy things he said before she ran out of the house. _"Tell me, what is it that you desire? Tell me…_"

The Dolem, she once thought the Dolem was behind all of this. Was that it? Did the Dolem create a replica of the world around her? The familiarities? Those she knew? Are her mother and the Aaron she thought she knew…illusions? And the woman, who was she? Wasn't ANYTHING around her real?!

This was insane! Ashley felt like she was going crazy and that at any moment she'd start pulling the hair out of her head. "Stop it…" she hissed towards the Dolem, if it was watching her. "Stop messing with my head…" Another picture, one on the east wall of her room, caught Ashley's attention. A beautiful classic painting. She forgot the name of the artist, but guessed the name of the artwork to be "Starry Night?" The stars were twinkling, and the visible wind was blowing around the dark castle. Her eyes twitched. Photos and paintings weren't supposed to move, but be still!

"STOP IT!!" she screamed and picked up the first thing she could find. Her alarm clock off the drawer, located next to her bed. She threw the machine at the picture in the wall, plug coming out of its socket. The glass shattered by the impact. The framed painting that she enjoyed to see slid down from the wall, falling face down. Her hands balled into shaking fists at her sides.

It was now confirmed that this was all fake and a twisted and sick dream world the Dolem that captured her has created. She needed to find a solution to get out into the real world. She had to escape to her _real_ mother.

Without telling her illusion mother, she ran past the illusional father who was just coming home from work on the way out of the front door. "Ashley?" he called to her, but she kept running. "ASHLEY!"

She ran out into the streets, past walking people she didn't know. The sun had set and now the sky had been filled with stars. A cold wind brushed up against her running form, making Ashley shiver slightly. The strange thing was they hadn't noticed her. Another definite answer that this was all fake. And that latte back earlier on, was that fake too? But it all felt so real, but all of this really wasn't.

"How do I get out of here?!" she shouted out loud as she ran. FLASH! Oh no, it was that woman again. She was coming closer. Shaking her head clear, she found herself facing another woman. A stranger, and she noticed Ashley. Her hair was brown and straight. It grew down to around her shoulders. Her eyes were a shade of dark green. She was professionally dressed in a black suit with slacks to match the color of it. The same kind of smile appeared on her face like the last facial expression of her illusional mother gave to her. A voice rang into her head. It sounded…weird, as if Ashley were hearing a talking person underwater.

__

"Your time will come, Ashley," said the voice, and her gut instinct felt it came from the woman in front of her. _"You and my son will tune the world to perfection… Into the way we like it."_ The dark green eyed woman, the way she was speaking to her…was so creepy. So creepy that Ashley had goosebumps all over her insides. "WHO ARE YOU?!" she found herself screaming, going mad for that one millisecond. _"You are smart, and have figured out everything up until now. You'll figure it out eventually."_ "No!! I want YOU to tell me!!" Ashley demanded, desperate for a way out of this hell. For the first time, the professional looking lady's lips moved. "My dear Ashley, I am not important to you right now. After you meet up with my son, I will be doing what's best for you."

"What the?! How do you know who I am?! I've never met you in my entire life!" The mysterious and telepathic woman vanished into thin air, giving her nothing else, but that riddle to ponder about. Ashley cursed in frustration. "Dammit!" _NOTHING is making ANY sense!!_

What the hell was that lady talking about anyway?! She seemed so creepy, and sounded like she had a plan having to do with her and whomever the "son" was. Was it Aaron? No, that couldn't be right. The real, true and kind Aaron she had met over a year ago never mentioned about his mother or if he had one or not. Just his dad. So who was the guy that the woman wanted Ashley to hook up with?!

The riddle provided was just too much of one. If she tried to figure it out, a migraine could possibly develop. Well, if no one was going to show her the way out of this hell, then she'll figure it out herself.

Ashley walked on, trying to solve this gigantic puzzle she was standing around in, for tweaks or little mistakes in the system her captor Dolem had imprisoned her in. Strangers around her didn't even notice her screaming at the woman who haunted her already dispirited mind and heart. She was invisible to the pedestrians. If she walked out into the middle of the street and just stood there, a car would probably just hit her head on and keep on going. The thought of that kind of scenario scared her.

Passing by a clothing shop, Ashley recognized one of the girls she was friends with among Hilton Head. Bridgett. Curly blond hair with light blue eyes. A good friend Bridgett was at that, but Ashley knew all to well that this place was so fake. All of her surroundings were so fake. Fake, fake, fake!!! Knowing this girl was an illusion, she ran past the store, thinking it wasn't wise to go in there or else she'd end up being spooked out of her wits. It would just be another mind torture game for the Dolem to perform. Ashley wasn't going to fall for it.

Eventually she had to stop again, and catch her breath. The non cloth wearer returned once again, closing in on her form. "No… Go away…" she whispered to her, looking into the eye on the head dress. Ashley found herself backing up during the next second the most strangest figure of all was walking closer and closer, arms stretched out, wanting to touch her or grab her.

When that was over, she was found inside the clothing store that she saw "Bridgett" in. She was still there. "Hey, where are you running in such a hurry? Have you been jogging?" she giggled. "Leave me alone," Ashley whispered, in utter terror, and turning to walk towards the exit of the shop. "Huh?" the illusion quirked in bewilderment as she watched Ashley quickly left.

Tears flooded her vision, causing the victim that was toyed upon to come to a halt. She was scared, and cold. Soon she would become tired of running. Somehow, Ashley knew there was no escape from this living nightmare. It may be what she might have wanted to see. Sure, it might have been her secret desires. _But I HATE IT!!!_

"I want my real mom and dad," Ashley said through her tears. "I want to go home… I've had enough of this place." _Please, please God… I know I haven't been paying much attention to you, but please hear my plea. Get me out of here…_

Well, her God seemed to somewhat heard her prayer and the dream world had left her by herself for a while, to cry it all out and try to come up with an idea. If she was in trapped in her own world of dreams, couldn't she somehow wake herself up? Thinking it over, maybe the car collision course action wasn't a bad idea. _No… I could be killed! It may be fake, but I can feel pain. SHEESH! This is just like that Matrix movie I haven't seen in a while!_

In her heart, Ashley knew there was going to be no "Neo" or "Morpheus" to come and rescue her. They were more fake than this. The movie recalled was pure fiction. There had to be some kind of glitch though, thinking upon the movie's terms. Nothing is perfect, right? A flaw just had to be around her somewhere! She just had to get up on her feet and find it.

The search had begun from that moment on. Indeed a long one. It took all night and she had to rest up for the upcoming morning. During her sleeping time, the flash blackout thing with the head dress woman (as she called it) happened again. Ashley felt ice cold hands touch her bare shoulders, for she was wearing a spaghetti strapped shirt after all. "Get off of me!" she yelled at her.

The vision ended and once again, Ashley found herself back in the exact same spot where she was resting, in an alleyway she hid away in. Away from all she knew, and it wasn't like the strangers were going to start paying attention to her NOW. Good thing it was the same spot too, because if she were someplace else again, she would've just gone freakin' haywire! It was hard trying to remain sane in a place where everything was not.

It felt like forever in being trapped in this lunacy, for Ashley had lost track of time. At least a few days had past in running and searching to find a way out of this mess. Ashley made sure to stay away from familiar faces. She had to or else she would be fulfilling the Dolem's wishes. To desire and not worry about a thing while she was here. One thing she could not avoid was that naked red haired woman in the head dress. Soon, her hands left Ashley's shoulders to be around her neck, in starting to strangle her. The more encounters Ashley had with her, the more desperate she wanted to break whatever barrier there was that held the whacked system together. She HAD to get away from that crazy bitch!

Ashley ate and slept whenever she could, but it wasn't enough. Every once in a while, she'd get another terrifying encounter from you-know-who. One mid afternoon, she felt those cold fingers touch her one last time, nails wanting to dig into her skin. After that, the wind was knocked out of her. The location was inside a kind of warehouse, near a large mirror. She fell backwards, into the mirror. It began to shatter, and Ashley began to fall. Pieces of the mirror cut into her arms and some of the shards made little cuts on her petite, but sickly pale face. Would she survive…?

**__**

PREVIEW: Two strangers from different times… Who was loved by one is now thy enemy… RahXephon, Second Movement. The world suffused with sound…


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